Portable electronic devices, such as portable media players, have become ubiquitous the past several years. As they have proliferated, so have the number and types of accessories that are designed to interact with these portable media players. These accessories range in complexity, including, for example, simple speaker systems and complex automotive entertainment systems.
These accessories commonly communicate with a portable media player using a connector system. This connector system typically includes a connector insert on the accessory and a connector receptacle on the portable media player. A user fits the connector receptacle of the media player over the connector insert on the accessory, thereby forming electrical connections for data and power.
Users may have more than one type of media player. For example, a user may have a high-capacity portable media player for home use and a smaller, low-capacity portable media player for use at the gym.
For various reasons, these media players may have different sized connectors. For example, the media players may be made by different manufacturers. Also, they may be made by one manufacturer, but a newer media player may have a more advanced, smaller sized connector receptacle.
For these reasons, a user may encounter a situation where she has multiple portable media players but one or more of these portable media players are incompatible with one of her accessories. It may be undesirable to acquire more than one such accessory, not only due to cost reasons, but also because of other concerns, such as limited space. It also may be undesirable to forgo use of the incompatible portable media player, particularly when it contains unique content.
Thus, what is needed are circuits, methods, and apparatus that provide compatibility among incompatible accessories and portable media players.